


Defenestration

by lightherons



Series: Epiphany [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Divergent, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Isabelle Lightwood, Protective Jace Herondale, Suicidal Ideation, Vampire Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-19 19:12:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11904378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightherons/pseuds/lightherons
Summary: He needs to find Alec and make sure he's safe. Safe from the Shadowhunters, from the Downworld, and from the Seelie Court. Especially the Seelie Court.





	Defenestration

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to put up a reminder that this series is not Magnus friendly at this point. He screwed up and hasn't been forgiven yet.

He tries to talk to Raphael first. It makes sense, to him, because Raphael has claimed responsibility for Alec and, of course, Raphael has a loyalty to _him_. Surely, he'd be willing to help out?

He steps out of the portal to where the Hotel is and knocks on the door. A girl with bright pink hair stands in the doorway and studies him. Magnus is unfamiliar with her but she quickly nods and motions for him to follow her inside. He steps lightly. There are some vampires he recognizes who look at him with excitement, some who smirk as he passes, those that recognize him from his time with Camille, and then there are an odd few that look at him with mistrust and slinking away into the other parts of the hotel. He spots Simon once but the fledgling dashes off before he gets a chance to even wave. It all seems.. _off_. There's something being hidden away from him. Alec? _Possibly._ Is Raphael planning something? _Doubtful._

He follows the girl - who introduces herself as Lily, one of Raphael's most trusted allies. She seems distant and careless. He almost thinks she's playing a game with him, but decides not to think on that too long. Soon, they reach Raphael's room on the top floor. The spacious area that was once Camille's before _Magnus_ delivered her to the Clave to save Raphael's life. He takes in a deep breath and knocks on the door. As soon as his hand touches it, he hears Raphael's voice, from inside, call out: "You can enter, Bane."

He does so, taking in another deep breath. Lily watches him before the door closes and he can't help but feel a wave of worry rush through him. _What is going on?_

Raphael stands by a drink cart, pouring a glass for Magnus. He hands it over, but avoids eye contact. Magnus feels the distance between them but he tries to ignore it. He's made choices to protect his people, and his people _included_ Raphael. Surely Raphael understood why he did what he did?

"He's not here," Raphael finally says, finger circling the rim of his own glass - filled with blood.

Magnus looks at him, confused. _If Alec isn't here, then where is he?_

"I don't know where he is. I said I'd do my part to make sure he transitioned well and didn't go out killing anyone and, so far, I haven't heard of him getting into trouble. He's not my problem."

Magnus _knows_ it's not Raphael's problem. Alec isn't Raphael's responsibility, if he's anyone's, he's Magnus's, who got him into the situation in the first place. He was the one who told the Seelie Queen about the Clave's lies and he's the one who just stood by and _let_ them take Alec. Let them _keep_ him. He's the one responsible for this mess and it's him who should deal with it.

"Do you know where he'd be?" Magnus asks, needing to know. He needs to find Alec and make sure he's safe. Safe from the Shadowhunters, from the Downworld, and from the Seelie Court. Especially the Seelie Court.

Raphael is silent for a moment, contemplating. After a long minute, he speaks, his voice low and regretful. "I heard he went looking for Garroway. Wanted to hear how it was from someone that had been a Shadowhunter and turned against their will out of revenge." It's a low blow that Magnus feels in his gut, but it's not unwarranted. It's the truth. He nods and stands. He waves his hand and his glass disappears with it. Leaving Raphael with his dirty dishes would just be another bad thing he's done.

* * *

 

Finding Luke is easy. He goes to the Restaurant first and thinks of how people must see him. The High Warlock of Brooklyn chasing a former Shadowhunter around like a dog. He must look like a fool, a laughing stock. He places his hands in front of him as he looks around the Restaurant for any sign of Luke. He straightens up when the younger man comes out from the book, surprised to see him there.

"Magnus," Luke acknowledges. Magnus accepts the icy note to his voice. Raphael was more receptive to Magnus's involvement with the Seelie Court, but Luke had been against it from the beginning. If Luke were, in fact, older than Magnus, he'd feel like a scolded child. But, he's not. He thinks in centuries, not years.

"Luke," he replies. He wants to get straight to the point, but holds back. If he pushes too hard, Alec will run, if he hasn't already.

Luke, unfortunately, sees right through it and shakes his head. "He needs time. I don't know where he is." Of course, the Alpha knows exactly why Magnus is there. "Clary's only said that Alec isn't at the Institute or the Hotel."

"So, he's on his own," Magnus concludes. "What about the Shadowhunters?"

Luke shrugs. "They heard what happened. They don't know who turned him, but they know he was turned and they're considering it a breaking of the Accords. If they find out you had any knowledge over Alec's imprisonment-"

"Don't worry about me, Garroway. Being the High Warlock of Brooklyn has it's perks." He's not afraid of what can happen to him. He's too valuable to the Clave for them to get rid of him or accuse him of anything. Besides, he knows too much about them to be considered a liability. He'll never be anything _less_ than an asset.

Luke nods. "Give him time. He'll come to you when he's ready, but if you push too hard, he'll break. The transition from being a Shadowhunter to a Downworlder? It's brutal. There's a reason there aren't too many Shadowhunters that are turned."

Magnus thinks on that for a moment, deciphering what Luke means before it hits him. It's not that the Downworld is afraid of turning a Shadowhunter.

_It's that very little of them survive._

He doesn't say anything more, he can't. The thought of Alec doing that - _Alec on his rooftop, jumping_ \- makes him stumble and he has to leave before he breaks down. He needs to find Alec, _now._

* * *

 

He doesn't want to go to the Shadowhunters. He's not afraid of them, but he is afraid of what might happen. What they may know or what they could say. But his desire to _not_ see the Shadowhunters is greatly outweighed by his fear of what might happen to Alec.

He tries Clary first. The redhead is training inside the institute with another Nephilim when the other stops and steps away, giving Clary enough time to slam her staff into their side. Magnus almost smiles, amazed at how far she's come. Clary turns to see why her partner has stopped and deflates when she sees Magnus standing there.

"Clary, I-"

She shakes her head, tossing her staff down and heading over to the benches. Her partner takes the hint and leaves. Clary waits until the room is cleared out before she runs her _stele_ over her _iratze_ rune, healing herself of any injuries she sustained while sparring.

"How is-"

Clary pauses, her back turned to Magnus. "It's not a good idea for you to be here right now, Magnus," she explains before turning to face him. She looks exhausted. "The Institute is a mess and we've got a lot on our plate right now. Trying to find a new Head, trying to find my _brother_ , and _now_ dealing with this whole mess."

Magnus looks away, guilty for his own part in the mess.

"Valentine's gone, my brother's out there, _both_ with the Soul Sword and we just lost the one person who _actually_ had a _voice_ with the Clave _and_ wanted peace with the Downworld."

He doesn't interrupt her. She's, obviously, been wanting to rant at someone for ages now. He takes a few steps forward and places a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She turns to look at him.

"Sorry," she apologizes, looking down with a frown. "Our problems aren't yours. You came to find Alec?"

Magnus, reluctantly, nods.

"I don't know where he is. He never came to the Institute," she tells him, regretfully.

He thinks for a moment. "What about Jace and Isabelle? Where are they?"

Clary looks over at the door, as if she's about to betray a confidence. "Izzy's probably in the infirmary with Max,"

_Max? Alec's little brother?_

"No one's seen Jace in a few days. He came by the night Alec got out of the Seelie Realm, and left the next morning. He hasn't been back since then," she frowns.

"Would either of them know where Alec is? I'm worried about him. Something Luke said about Downworlders aren't often Shadowhunters because of the society."

She nods. "You can try."

* * *

 

"Get. Out." Isabelle's voice is dangerous and low. She's deadly and it's evident that she's not afraid to use whatever skills she has at her disposal to make Magnus hurt. She's staring down at Max's face and, for the first time, Magnus sees what happened. The young Shadowhunter's clothes are covered in blood and there are various wires and tubes connected to Max's body. He's alive, but barely.

Vaguely, he recalls seeing blood on Alec when he brought him to the Seelie Court.

"What happened?"

Isabelle looks at him with hatred in her dark eyes. "Why? Not like you care about us."

"Of course, I care. Isabelle, I never intended to hurt Alec. If I thought she would do anything like that, I would have never brought him there-"

"You _did_ know," she looks back at her brother. "You knew the Queen was angry and that you were delivering her someone she could take her anger out on."

Magnus can't help but feel that she's right. He _did_ know. "What happened to Max?"

She doesn't answer immediately, but when she does, he regrets asking. "Jonathan Morgenstern is alive. The demonic Morgenstern that everyone thought was Jace. He got into the institute and pretended to be Sebastian Verlac,"

Magnus thinks back to the man that had suddenly shown up with knowledge about greater demons and had wormed his way into the inner workings of the Shadowhunters, who had saved Isabelle's life. _That betrayal.._

"Max figured it out when we couldn't and Jonathan tried to kill him. He got to my room and I screamed for help but.. There was nothing we could do. We called one of the Silent Brothers in to help. Alec stepped away for just a minute to go through his office to see if he could find anything about what happened." Her voice turns emotionless. "We had just heard the news that he'd be okay and we were going to find Alec to tell him because he'd been gone for hours when Jace felt Alec die."

Magnus swallows the lump in his throat.

"We almost lost one brother, only to find out we'd lost another."

She sets Max's hand back down on the bed and stands, brushing off her clothes. She comes closer and Magnus can see the anguish in her eyes, the brokenness that comes from a life too short with too much loss. She's lost too much and given too much.

"If you go near my brothers _ever_ again, I will tear you apart."

If it were anyone else, he'd laugh. But, she's not anyone else. He's always been fond of her, her protective streak that she has for her brothers is not to be underestimated. He, with all his wisdom, knows this.

"I don't want to hurt him any more than I already have. I just want to apologize and to tell him that he has every reason to hate me. I love him, Isabelle-"

She laughs and shakes her head. "You were angry. I get it. He didn't tell you about the Soul Sword and you lashed out. But that doesn't change the fact that you aligned yourself with someone who wants to destroy our entire species. You aligned yourself with someone who is _just_ like Valentine. I can't speak for Alec, but our friendship is done." She steps back and straightens herself up. He can see how easily she falls into the guise of a representative of the Clave.  "I'm sure the Head of the Institute will contact you shortly if we need anything and do not hesitate to let us know if the Institute can do anything to assist you."

He opens his mouth to say something else, but she cuts him off.

"Good day, Mr. Bane," she turns around and goes back to Max's bedside, sitting with her younger brother and holding his hand. Her mask still stays in place, cold, and foreign.

He doesn't linger in the room. He _does_ stop by Alec's room and grabs one of Alec's shirts to track him.

* * *

 

He finds himself being lead to an apartment building close to the Institute, but unknown to Magnus. He starts to look at the directory of tenants when he hears someone coming down the steps in a fast pace. He watches and is surprised when he sees Jace coming down the steps, absent-mindedly. He's dressed casually, unassuming. His runes are even covered, but he knows enough of the Nephilim to know that Jace is not unarmed. He stops in front of the gate and goes to open it when he notices Magnus standing there. He doesn't open the gate, but stares at the warlock.

"Not here," Jace says, voice cold as ice. "You won't find him."

"I tracked him here. I _know_ he's here," Magnus explains.

Jace shakes his head. "He doesn't _want_ to see you. I don't care why you want to see him. I told you before that I wasn't going to let anyone hurt him. You've not only hurt him, but you got him _killed_."

"I messed up, I know. I didn't intend for her to hurt Alec. I thought she just wanted to talk to him as the Head of the Institute, a representative of the Clave. I would have never brought him there if I'd known what she really wanted," he pleads.

"What did you think she would do? With someone she thought had betrayed her? Did you _honestly_ think he'd be okay, _alone_ , in the Seelie Realm? Because if you did, you're an idiot. If you knew there was a chance he could be hurt, then you didn't care. Which is it?"

"Idiot. I trusted her," he admits. "And I shouldn't have."

Jace stares at him before shaking his head. "Alec doesn't want to see you," he repeats. "If he ever does, one of us will let you know. You don't call him, you don't track him, you don't see him until he's ready. If you _truly_ want to make things right with him, then you'll give him _time_." He opens the gate and walks out, closing it before Magnus can step inside. Not that he would. "He's okay now. Shaken up and doesn't know what he'll do, but he's okay. I'm making sure of it."

"If I can do anything to help-"

"Don't," Jace holds up his hand to stop Magnus from saying anything else. "We have it handled. We're figuring out how to deal with this. Me, Alec, and Izzy."

"Is he living here?" Magnus asks, looking over at the stairs.

"Yes," Jace says.

"Would he be okay with me putting up wards for him? To make sure no one who wishes him harm can enter."

Jace thinks for a moment. "I can ask. I hope you'll include yourself on the list of people who can't enter."

Magnus looks away and nods. "Yes. Until he wants me to, I will stay away."

The blond nods in return. "I'll tell Clary when Alec's ready. She'll tell you." He steps closer. "Until then? Forget we exist."

He stands there, making sure that Magnus will have to go through him to get to Alec. Magnus doesn't push. He turns away and leaves. He steps out of the building's doors and looks back. He almost thinks he can see Alec watching him from one of the windows, but a blonde woman comes to stand next to the man and Magnus knows, instantly, that it can't be Alec. But, Alec is up there somewhere.

He needs to make this right.

**Author's Note:**

>  **requested by _anonymous_ :** _For your series 'Epiphany' do you think you could write one where Magnus tries to talk to Alec but he avoids him. Everyone (Luke, Raphael, Izzy, Jace, Clary, Simon and Maia) are against their meet. When they talk Alec is really angry at him, because Magnus left him to the seelie queen. Something really angsty..I would love to have an angry and cold Alec...Thank you <3_
> 
> hope this is what you were looking for! sorry it took me so long to get to! i'm going to do alec & magnus meeting in a seperate part because this one got too long!


End file.
